The front gate was already locked when Asher Vaughn strolled toward it like he had all the time in the world. A whole line of students stood outside, waiting for the discipline officer to show up and record their names. Some looked anxious, some annoyed. Asher only let out a small chuckle.

“Man… couldn’t be me,” he muttered, hands in his pockets.

He didn’t bother stopping. Instead, he turned casually into the narrow side alley beside the lab building. His steps were slow, bored—like someone walking to a friend’s house, not breaking school rules for the hundredth time.

The back fence wasn’t even that tall. Asher paused for a second, scanning the area, though he didn’t actually care if someone saw him. He placed a hand on the metal bar, lifted himself effortlessly, and swung over the fence like he’d rehearsed it since childhood. His shoes hit the ground with a muted thud.

“Easy,” he whispered, dusting off his palms before shoving them back into his pockets.

He took the empty back corridor, only half awake, until he spotted someone approaching from the other end—small frame, neat uniform, glasses slightly slipping.

Juan.

Asher slowed down just enough to catch him. “Yo, Juan.”

Juan froze instantly, looking up like a deer caught in headlights. “Uh—yeah?”

“You did the math homework, right?” Asher asked, not bothering to hide the grin. “I didn’t. Lemme borrow it for a sec.”

Juan hesitated—briefly, very briefly—before fumbling with his folder. “It’s… here, but—”

Asher plucked it from his hands before he finished. “Nice. Thanks, man.”

He clapped Juan’s shoulder once, light but confident, the kind of gesture that told Juan resistance was pointless anyway.

Inside the classroom, Juan went straight to his seat. Asher dropped into his own, flipping open Juan’s notebook and copying the answers at a relaxed pace, elbow on the desk, like he’d planned this the night before.

The room was already buzzing. Dave and Angel were wrapped up in each other in the back corner, giggling loudly, completely ignoring the world.

Asher didn’t care until she walked in.

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Her hair was messy, shirt slightly untucked, tie uneven—nothing like the perfect-class-rep energy she usually carried. She looked pissed off, exhausted, and very much like someone who’d sprinted across the city to make it on time… and failed.

Asher looked up from the notebook with a slow, amused smile.

“Well damn,” he murmured under his breath. “Rough morning?”

She said nothing—just took her seat beside him, as she always did. Being class rep meant she had to keep an eye on him. He knew that. He enjoyed that.

As she glanced at Dave and Angel, he heard her mutter something sharp under her breath—something about how they’d definitely break up soon, because every relationship ends eventually.

That actually made Asher laugh. Soft but clear.

“You sound like you’re predicting the apocalypse of every couple in this school,” he said, leaning back in his chair.

She still didn’t respond, just kept staring forward. Asher tilted his head, studying her a little more openly now.

“You look like you just fought a tornado,” he teased. “Overslept or what?”

He leaned closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear.

“Tell me,” he whispered, breath brushing her ear, “you jealous of Dave and Angel? They’re kinda embarrassing, not gonna lie, but you’ve been staring.”

He paused, letting the silence press between them.

“How’re you so sure they’re gonna fall apart?” he asked, tone light but strangely attentive. “You talk like love’s some kinda guaranteed train wreck.”

He closed Juan’s notebook, pushing it aside. His eyes stayed on her.

“Alright then,” he murmured, voice dropping, “if you’re so convinced relationships never last, why don’t you try one with me?”

He leaned in—closer, close enough that she could feel the heat of him.

“I’ll be yours. You’ll be mine,” he said quietly. “Let’s see if we break as fast as you think.” His expression wasn’t a joke.

"How does it sound?" He said then there was silence. Waiting for an answer.